


Some Sort of Homecoming

by Golikethat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Epilepsy, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Loki and Thor Are Not Related, Loki is sick, M/M, Mentions of incest, Minor Character Death, Seizures, Thorki - Freeform, Thorki freeform, no powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-21 20:39:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11365215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golikethat/pseuds/Golikethat
Summary: Thor returns to his childhood home after the death of his brother Balder, to prepare it for sale and to finally rid his family of his brother's "Ill advised companion."  He has never accepted his brother's partner and can't wait to personally evict him.  However this proves to be more complicated than he expected, as he Finds himself drawn to a grieving Loki.





	1. Chapter 1

Loki stood in shock as he opened the front door to find his deceased lover staring back at him.

 

"Hello Loki, I'm Thor."

 

Loki's confusion quickly dissipated as he realized it was his love’s older brother.

 

"Oh my God, you look just like Balder!"

 

Thor showed obvious contempt for Loki's comment and blurted out the reason for his sudden visit.

 

“I'm here to oversee the selling of this house. You've had a year to mourn and since you and Balder never officially married, the family retains ownership of this estate. May I come in?"

 

"Yes, of course!" Loki felt glad to have something to say after being confronted so abruptly.

 

The imposing blond man entered the house imperiously, with an attitude of ownership. Loki followed with trepidation. Thor noted the familiar surroundings.  This had been his childhood home where he had spent many a happy moment with his parents and brother, before his father's success had taken them to grander settings.  The living room was beautifully decorated with colorful throws and pillows which Thor felt certain we're meant to hide threadbare upholstery.  He also noted the cracks on the ceiling and the chipped paint on the wall and found himself irritated by the overall deteriorated condition of the house.

 

"I guess this guy couldn't even try to fix the house!" Thor reflected as he turned his attention to Loki.  Loki looked at Thor and asked:

 

"Can I offer you something to drink?”

 

"It's a bit early for that, don't you think?"

 

Loki instinctively knew Thor would wish to misinterpret his intentions. He could sense his underlying hostility. 

 

"I only meant tea or water."

 

"No thanks, this isn't a social visit and you are no longer the lady of the house." Loki cringed internally at Thor's bluntness and implication.

 

"As I was saying, I feel the family has been more than generous by allowing you to live here free of charge since my brother's death. You’ll have 30 days to move out. I’ll be moving in immediately to oversee renovation of the property. Any questions?" Thor internally braced himself for Loki's response.

 

"Alright." Was all Loki said.

 

Thor was taken aback by the ease of this confrontation, which he was certain was going to be more abrasive from a man he considered to be an opportunist, a freeloader and a seducer.

 

"Good!" Thor picked up his bags and rushed past Loki. "I'll be taking my old bedroom upstairs.

 

"Can I get you anything?" Loki couldn’t help but ask.

 

Thor turned as he reached the top of the stairs, noting that Loki had begun to climb a few steps to hear his answer. 

 

"We’re not playing house here.  You owe me no attention, I'm here to move things along." Thor said with a disdain that made Loki shudder. He added "you stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours." He turned into the hallway and disappeared.

 

Loki remained stunned on the steps, still trying to grasp the impact of the last few moments. He turned to walk towards his bedroom.  He felt a weakness in his legs and worried he might not make it to the safety of his room.  He couldn't help but think that the collapse of his world which had started a year ago, was now complete.

 

Thor walked into his old bedroom and was flooded with memories of his youth.  How long had it been since he had seen these walls?  Very little had changed in the room but suddenly his eyes met a framed photograph on the nightstand. He picked it up and remembered it was a photo of himself with his brother when they were boys.  He felt a deep pain in his chest when he realized everything had changed. Nothing would ever be the same in this house. Balder was gone. Not having come to the funeral had allowed him to pretend that somehow his brother was still alive.  But now, there was no denying the truth. And here he was, under the same roof with the man Balder supposedly loved! Him! His brother? In love with a man? He who had had a list of the most beautiful girls only rivaled by Thor's list! This wasn't the brother he’d known! Thor squeezed his eyes as tears of pain and anger threatened to overwhelm him. This man had obviously seduced him, perverted him! He was a trickster, a scoundrel! And yet Thor could not help but admit what he noted the moment the front door opened, that he had never seen someone, male or female, as beautiful as Loki.

 

Loki stayed in his room the rest of the day, not strong enough for another confrontation with Thor.  It was also too much of a shock to see that face, and realize it was not that of his lost love.  Thor went in and out of his room, walking around the sizable estate, making notes of all the changes needed to get the place in order.  He managed to finally settle in past midnight.  Early the next morning, Loki walked into the kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee. Even after a year he couldn’t bring himself to cook for just one. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and watched nervously as Thor came into the room.

 

"Good morning." Loki offered. Thor acknowledged by simply arching one eyebrow.

 

"Coffee?" Loki asked before he could stop himself. He saw Thor's jaw tighten.

 

"Sorry!" Loki quickly added

 

So, was this part of the appeal for his brother? Thor thought. A perfect little housewife? Pathetic. Thor opened the refrigerator and drank the orange juice he had bought the previous day.

 

"There's going to be some noise today, I've got contractors coming over to look over the house" Thor warned as he continued to stand facing the open fridge.  Loki couldn’t tell if this was a courtesy or a threat from Thor.

 

"Try not to get in the way."  Thor said, as he quickly left the room.  Ok, so it had NOT been a courtesy.  Loki walked out to the adjoining garden. He had spent many hours here, making it a beautiful space. And realizing now that undoubtedly all this would soon be trampled and gone.

 

In the following days, a new routine was quickly developed in the house. Loki would get up extra early to prepare himself breakfast in order to avoid meeting up with Thor. He would quickly return to his room which luckily was right next to the kitchen. Loki had taken the maid's room quickly after Balder's death. It was simply too painful to stay in their old bedroom, the emptiness too great. Here was a small comfortable room with just a twin bed and a window that looked out into the garden. 

 

Thor was immensely grateful Loki had moved downstairs and had, in his mind, acknowledged his lack of status in the household. This perception was petty and mean, he knew, but it gave him great satisfaction. Besides, it lessened the number of times he would have to see Loki. The two men did however, run across each other frequently, making no conversation.  Loki tried to keep to himself as numerous workers moved in and out of the house, gutting upstair rooms. Hearing the noise, Loki would close his eyes, feeling as if the very soul of the house was being violated.  He had never assumed this house would be his, and without Balder it was no longer a home.  But it had kept his memory alive for Loki and that gave him peace.

 

Loki began to sort through the material elements that he had shared with Balder.  He planned to take very little with him, two small suitcases at most. He didn’t want Balder's family accusing him of theft along with all the other misconceptions of their relationship. Even at the funeral he had been shunned. No one approached him. No condolences to soothe his pain. Only Frigga, Balder's mother had smiled at him and wordlessly, placed a hand over his.  He wanted to leave.

 

Loki found a box of Balder's high school memories: photos, certificates of merit, notebooks.  All things to be carefully kept, helping to remember a beloved son. He decided to give the box to Thor.  He found Thor studying blueprints in the study.  Thor was startled when he saw Loki enter the room.  Hoping this was just another accidental encounter he ignored the pale man's presence.  But then the apparition spoke.

 

"Thor?"

 

Thor looked up from his work and acidly replied " What do you want?" 

 

Loki approached Thor with the box. "I'm sorting through things, I thought you might want to have this."

 

Thor recognized his brother's belongings and took the box from Loki, their fingers briefly touching, their eyes meeting.

 

"Thanks" Thor curtly responded.

 

Loki turned away. As he headed for the door he heard Thor ask him:

 

"How's the search for a new place going?"  Loki felt a sudden pang in his chest but responded lightly:

 

"I'm still looking, I promise I'll be out before the thirty days!"

 

Thor felt slightly embarrassed, he hadn't meant to sound mean. Especially, after such a kind gesture.  He thought about explaining it was meant as small talk but simply kept quiet. Loki left the room without a backward glance.

 

In the second week of work on the house, Thor found himself impressed with the workers' productivity.  There was a positive attitude in the air with a crew working extremely hard to meet deadlines.  It was, however, then, that Thor discovered a possible reason, if not a main reason, for this attitude. Loki had been supplying sandwiches and treats to the men. He realized this as he found Loki sharing a meal with the men one afternoon when Thor had stated he would be away but changed his mind at the last minute.

 

Thor saw him from a distance, sitting cross legged in the garden, surrounded by the men eagerly biting into their food as they watched Loki talk. Loki stood out from the other men with his preternatural light skin and his slender figure. Thor suddenly felt uncomfortable watching Loki in the middle of this grouping of men.  He watched as some of the men stared intently at Loki, smiling and whispering into each other’s ears.  Thor found himself suddenly opening the door to the garden and shouting angrily "Loki!!"

 

Loki looked up from his lunch and quickly stood up from his place in the grass. Thor glared at him from the doorway, motioning with a flick of his head to come closer. Some of the men patted his leg as he made his way through them.  This only disturbed Thor further.  As he came into the kitchen Thor gripped the edge of the counter in an effort to resist grabbing Loki's arm.  

 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he growled.

 

"I was just giving the guys some lunch!" Loki answered innocently.

 

"Some lunch? What are you? Their maid?"

 

Loki didn't quite understand what had angered Thor so much. Was he angry at him or for him?

 

"I just thought they would appreciate it.  It's not a big deal."

 

Thor turned to look directly at Loki. "Did you so need the attention?  Do you not see how some of those men are looking at you?"

 

 "Are you kidding me?" Loki responded. "What kind of a person do you think I am?"

 

"I don't know!  Maybe one who doesn't seem to honor the memory of my brother?"

 

Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing! Two weeks of silence and this is what Thor wanted to discuss?  To pass judgment on him for making lunch?

 

"I certainly honor him more than you ever did!"

 

 The punch on his jaw was so sudden Loki had no way to avoid it. He fell back against the wall, his lip bloodied by the impact.  Thor's eyes stared at him with anger, his fist raised.

 

"I'm sorry, that was wrong." Loki turned and rushed out of the room.

 

As Thor regained his composure, he suddenly realized all of the workmen were watching him, some having stood up, maybe contemplating saving Loki, he thought.  The foreman approached the door and called out to Thor.

Thor motioned to him to enter.  The tall, muscular man matched Thor in build and height. 

 

"Mr. Odinson, I just wanted to say, well, the men and I want to be certain we didn't cause any problems between you and Loki. He was just feeding us after our lunches were accidently thrown out at another site.  We had no money on us, and so..." 

 

Thor stopped the man from further explanation.  "No, its fine, we were arguing about something else.  It's fine." 

 

The foreman nodded, acknowledging the conversation was over, and turned to leave.  Thor called out “And if you don't mind, that's Mr. Laufeyson to you. Not just 'Loki’, Thanks."

 

 The chastised man frowned, and turned to rejoin his group. Thor foresaw problems.

 

Loki didn't hear the knock on his door as he examined the cut on his lip and the quickly setting bruise on his jaw. So, as he emerged from the bathroom, he was extremely surprised to find Thor standing in the middle of his bedroom.  Loki instinctively backed away.

 

"I think I owe you an apology." Thor declared, trying not to look directly at Loki. "I mistook the situation."

 

Loki stared down at the floor, rubbing his bruised chin.  "I apologize too. I didn't mean to get so ugly."

 

"As if you could!" Thor found himself saying under his breath before thinking.  "What I mean is, well, people might mistake your actions and, well, take advantage."

 

Looking confused, Loki asked "Of what?"

 

"Of you!" Thor answered, exasperated.  "You give off a certain vulnerability, you're too accommodating!"

 

Loki felt insulted by Thor's words but decided not to pursue a longer conversation. He smiled sadly at Thor and nodded his head in agreement.  "You may be right."

 

Thor moved towards the door, looked back at Loki, and gave a slight shrug before leaving. As he closed Loki's door he admitted to himself "he’s just too fucking beautiful for a man!"


	2. Chapter 2

 

There was a relative truce between the two men in the following days.  Thor actually said good morning to Loki and stopped trying to avoid him altogether.  Loki felt somewhat more respected by Thor, or maybe it was the guilt from the obvious bruise on his face.  Nonetheless, Loki continued to look for a new place to live.  It was obvious he was in the way.  But rents were high in the area and Loki was on a very limited budget.  His one prospect was moving in with Nick, a man he had met standing in line at the local market.  He seemed nice enough.  Loki had mentioned his predicament to the cashier, feeling she might know of a place, when Nick had leaned in and whispered in his ear that he had a room.

The smell of alcohol on his breath had been a bit disconcerting, but Loki had taken down his number and kept it as an  emergency option.

 Loki's move was to come sooner than he expected, and he had no one to blame but himself.  He didn't know what had compelled him to do what he did.  What was he thinking leaning in to touch Thor's hair as the man slept?  Thor was sleeping soundly, head laid back on the old, comfortable arm chair in the darkening study. It was late afternoon when Loki walked in, simply wanting to retrieve a book.  He glanced around, catching sight of the sleeping man, who for a brief moment was Balder and not Thor. Impulsively, he leaned in towards him, his hand reaching forward. At that moment, Thor's eyes shot open and seeing only a shadowed figure coming towards him, pushed it away violently.

Loki crashed against a bookcase with such force, a small but heavy Rodin sculpture came tumbling down on his forehead from a shelf above. It was then that Thor realized who he’d struck.

 "Loki! What the fuck are you doing?"

 "I'm sorry…, uh, sorry…” he mumbled. I didn’t mean to startle you! I was… I mean… You just suddenly reminded me of your brother!"

 This confession only served to anger Thor. “Are you crazy? Are you seeing ghosts now? What the hell’s the matter with you? Balder is dead.

 A dizzy and confused Loki edged his way away from Thor, like a wounded animal, fear and apprehension clear in his eyes. Thor seemed to stare down at him, but was still just trying to recover from the rude awakening.

Loki exited the study and stumbled towards the safety of his room.  As he struggled to open his door, he felt the spinning in his head worsen and a numbness overtake his entire body.  Dropping to the floor, his body began to convulse.

 A crashing sound brought Thor out of his stupor.  Running into the hallway, he caught sight of Loki flailing on the floor, next to a large vase which had apparently been knocked down by his fall.  Thor rushed towards him and was stricken by the sight of Loki suffering a seizure.  It was a familiar sight for Thor, having seen his brother suffer several, one eventually taking his life.  He quickly bent down to place Loki on his side, waiting for the shaking to subside. Loki's eyes were lost in a haze, his mouth open.  Thor felt helpless and overwhelmed by remorse.  What had he done?  And why did he let Loki get under his skin? Was it hatred? Resentment?  Repulsion?  Or was it something even more frightening for Thor?

 After what seemed an eternity, but had really been no more than a few minutes, Loki's body stopped shaking. He made as if to get up, his movements wild and unstable, but Thor knew this was still part of the seizure and he could hurt himself. Thor decided to calm Loki’s movements by straddling him, leaving the afflicted man exhausted on the floor, eyes still in a daze. Suddenly, it seemed as if Loki wasn't breathing.

 "Loki? Loki?" No response.  Thor felt a panic overwhelm him.  He placed two fingers in Loki's mouth to guarantee nothing blocked the air passage.  He was breathing.  Suddenly, Thor moved aside to sweep the younger man in his arms and carried him to his bed.  Loki began to groan and Thor felt relieved.  He placed him on the bed, it was then he noticed Loki was staring at him.

 "What happened?"  Loki asked weakly.

 "I was an asshole and I forced you to have a seizure."  Thor replied quietly.

 "No, you didn't.  I have epilepsy, that's not your fault."

 "Are you trying to be some kind fucking saint?" Thor blurted out.  “And why the hell didn't you tell me you had epilepsy!"

 "I hadn't had a seizure in months. I didn't feel it was important to reveal."  Loki sounded extremely weary.

 "You let me believe you were some type of freeloader, who just didn't want to look for a job!"

 It was then that he noticed that Loki had closed his eyes and was falling asleep.  Thor, who had been sitting on the bed next to Loki quietly rose trying not wake the bruised and tired man. He then realized he was closer to Loki than he had ever been, without striking him, and this intimacy was intimidating. Loki's face was gently resting on the pillow, his expression now calm. He noticed Loki's long dark eyelashes, his tousled black hair framing that ephemeral skin and that slightly opened mouth, a warm crimson color that Thor found himself wanting to taste.  The thought sent a sexual impulse throughout his body that he’d never felt for another man!

  No, that wasn't true.  But that fact was hidden away, deeply buried in Thor's mind, pushed away into an abyss of shame and guilt.  But this was different. Here was a man who understood this kind of love, expected it. He suddenly allowed himself the thought of being with Loki, smelling his skin, thrusting, hearing his groans. He felt his legs weaken.  He quickly turned and started to walk out of the room, but abruptly turned back at the doorway and returned to Loki’s bedside.  He bent down over the sleeping man, and brushed his lips against his.

 "What are you doing to me?" Thor whispered.

  Loki awoke to the sound of crows cawing outside his window.  As he tried to lift himself up an incredible ache took his breath away.  It spread throughout his body and Loki found himself dropping back down into the bed as he tried to remember the previous day's events.  He closed his eyes to concentrate but his mind felt confused and blurred.  He knew Thor had hit him, again. He then remembered why, "holy shit" he thought.  But the rest, he just couldn't remember.  He then heard a slight knock and his door opening. The shock of seeing Thor with a tray of food was almost too much for him.

 "Good, you're awake! How do you feel?"   Thor must have sensed Loki's extreme surprise because he added "I know, I know, so unlike me, right?"

 Loki groaned as he sat up and made an effort to get out of bed. 

 "No, no, stay there. That's why I brought you some breakfast.  It's the least I can do."  It was then that Loki remembered the seizure and how this could account for this change in mood between the two men.

 Loki could sense an ease in Thor he had not felt before, coupled with what seemed genuine concern for his well-being.

 "Thor, I want to explain about yesterday when you found me trying to touch…"

 "No, no!" Thor interrupted, as he sat on the edge of the bed.  "You don't need to explain. I definitely over-reacted. It was stupid of me.  I've been locked in this mindset wanting to somehow blame you for everything that's happened when in fact, I'm just grieving." Thor lowered his head.  "I now know that you shared something with my brother based on compassion.” He hesitated.” Is that how the two of you met?"

  Asking this question made Thor feel somewhat apprehensive.  Did he want to know more about Loki's relationship with his brother?  Did he want to visualize them together?

 "Yes, we had the same doctor.  We kept meeting at his office, until one day Balder asked me out for coffee.  Quite uneventful really.  After that, well, I felt safe.  Your brother was a very caring person."

 “Caring?” Thought Thor.  It made his brother sound so sedate.  Balder had been anything but sedate, challenging every adventure despite his condition.  He wanted to try everything, be everywhere, see everything.  What had caused the changes in his brother?  Perhaps it was the same thing that was causing him to change.  Or maybe it was a ploy to get what he wanted.  That he could understand.  After all, they were Odin's sons and taught to charm their way to an advantage. 

“ I guess you knew him a bit differently than I did.” Feeling a sudden sense of frustration, Thor left Loki to enjoy his meal in private.

 Despite a calmer understanding with Thor, Loki felt it was urgent to move out as soon as possible.  He could ill afford another surprise encounter with Thor.  So, it was with great surprise that Thor took the news that Loki would be leaving in a few days.  He couldn't blame Loki for the rush. From the beginning, he had behaved in a way he himself did not recognize.  And with these new feelings perhaps it was better for him to leave.  Thor didn’t like feeling out of control.

 Loki was adamant he could walk the few miles to his new place, but Thor wouldn't hear of it. 

 “Get in!” He said as he grabbed the two small suitcases from Loki and threw them in the trunk of his sports car.

 Loki stood helpless in front of the car.  Better not to argue.

 Thor was not happy to see the condition of the apartment building which was to be Loki's new home.  It amazed Thor to see that just a short distance from his own stately home was this hipster neighborhood of overcrowded apartments, quirky little boutiques, and numerous tattoo shops.

 "Well this is it!” Loki exclaimed, referring to both the place and the end of his and Thor's time together.  He looked over at Thor with a half-smile.  Thor pulled a folded paper out of his shirt pocket.

 "Here I want you to take this, it might help."

 "What is it?" Loki unfolded the paper to discover it was a check for fifty thousand dollars.

 "What the hell!" Loki exclaimed, feeling a deep sense of indignation.

 "I just want you to have something!  And maybe use it to find a better place to live." 

 Loki stepped out of the car and quickly flung the check onto the now empty seat.  He was trying to contain his fury, as he retrieved his belongings. He returned to the passenger side of the car, and stared stoically at Thor.

 "Thank you but I don't need your money, you have all been too kind already. “ Loki’s words were tinged with a uncharacteristic sarcasm.

 "Loki!" Thor yelled as he began walking away.

 "What?!" Loki replied without turning back to face Thor.

 "Please! Take it!”

 Without turning, Loki entered the lobby of his new home.

 Loki sat on the edge of the bed in his new room.  He couldn’t decide if the stale smell of the room was that of corn chips or dirty laundry.  Compared to this, the maid's room in his former home seemed palatial.  One small window looked out onto the wall of an adjoining building.  It was undoubtedly a depressing place.  But Loki could only think about the check and how painful it was to think that Thor thought of him that way, as someone he had to pay off.

 Thor returned home to an empty house.  It was almost unbearable.  He found the emptiness depressing.  He expected to walk into the kitchen and hear Loki humming as he prepared himself a sandwich. But the rooms were dark and quiet.  Isn't this what he wanted?  Now it would simply be a matter of finishing up the house and moving on.  But why did he feel so lonely?  Why had he let Loki get to him?  He realized now how he looked forward to running into him.  He hated how he had hurt him.  And now he had ended things even worse by offering him money!  He had only meant to help him but the pained look on his face when he walked away from Thor made it clear he felt humiliated.

 "I'm an idiot!" Thor thought as he went towards the maid's room.  He entered Loki's former room and noticed a wallet on the bed. Loki's wallet!  His face brightened, grateful for an excuse to amend a wrong.

 Weariness had finally overcome Loki who had slumped over on the bed and fallen asleep. So it was that he didn’t hear his new roommate come home.  The room was dark now as the sun had set hours ago.  Suddenly, Loki awoke to the noise of his door knob being turned.  The door opened and Loki made out the silhouette of a man.

 "Loki?"  He heard the man whisper.

 "Yes?  Nick is that you?" 

Loki was caught off guard as Nick stumbled forward towards the bed. His body came crashing down on Loki.  Nick's face fell against Loki's chest. The pain overwhelmed Loki who was still dealing with the consequences from his encounter with Thor.  Nick then tried to lift himself up by holding down Loki's arms. He was overpowered by the smell of alcohol on the larger man's breath.  His face now hovered over Loki's face. He felt completely trapped with Nick pinning down his arms.

 "I meant to be here to welcome you when you arrived!" Nick slurred.

 Loki tried not to breath in Nick's foul breath by turning his head, exposing the smooth length of his neck.

 "It's okay, I'm all settled in. I'm just a bit tired." Loki prayed Nick would take the hint to leave.

"It's not too late to welcome you now!" Nick began to kiss Loki's neck hungrily.  Alarmed, Loki began to struggle against him.  Nick's grip only tightened on Loki's arms, and he used this moment to dig into Loki's mouth, not a kiss, but a violation.

 "Get off of me!" Loki managed to yell as he used one knee to kick into Nick’s groin. Nick yelped in pain.  Angrily, he backhanded Loki across the face. 

 "Don't pretend you don't want this!  You can be my slut now!" Nick grabbed Loki’s shirt collar, and used the closeness to bite down on Loki’s lip.  It was then that he heard loud knocking at his front door.

 "Fuck!  I guess we're being too loud!"  Nick clasped a sweaty hand over Loki’s mouth. But having recovered from the blow to his face and his arms freed, Loki began pushing and kicking against Nick. Suddenly, Loki felt Nick grab his neck tightly, threatening to choke him. 

 "Stop fighting me or I'll hurt you!" he growled.  Loki couldn't breathe, he tried pulling Nick's hand away but didn't have the strength. He closed his eyes, fearing he’d pass out.  The knocking resumed and then suddenly both men heard a voice roar:

"Loki!!"

 Nick released his grip on Loki's neck.  He stood up away from him and listened. Coughing, Loki managed to yell out as loud as he could:

 "Thor?"

 Nick slapped Loki across the face again, grunting "Shut up!"

 He brusquely got off the bed and began slowly walking towards the living room. He could now hear several voices in the hallway. 

 "Loki?" rang out again.  Nick heard a woman's voice tell Thor, "he's in there, I saw him come home about ten minutes ago."

 "Damn!" Nick knew he would have to open the door.

 "Loki?" The voice louder, more insistent, accompanied by a hard pounding of the door.

 Nick unlocked the door, peering through a slight opening.  He met with Thor's intense gaze.

 "What the hell do you want?"

 "I want to speak to Loki!  I thought I heard him call my name."

 "You must have imagined it, Loki's asleep."

 Thor could smell the alcohol on Nick's breath.  He knew no one could have slept through his loud knocking, evidenced by the annoyed neighbors now joining him in the hallway.  Nick began trying to close the door when he heard his name called out.

 "Thor?"

 He shoved the door open and saw a bloodied and disheveled Loki standing in the middle of the living room.

 "Thor.” Loki paused, catching his breath, then continued, “do you think you could give me a ride?”

 Thor stood stunned by the calmness and civility of Loki’s demeanor under the circumstances. But his anger quickly returned as he felt Nick approaching him from behind. He turned and punched Nick across the face, knocking him down unto the sofa, he moved towards him to continue his assault when he heard Loki say:

"No, Thor! Let's just go!"

 Thor nodded and grabbed Loki's arm.

 "No wait! My things!" Loki rushed into the bedroom and emerged with his two suitcases, not having unpacked. 

Thor grabbed both a suitcase and Loki’s arm and rushed the two past the curious crowd in the doorway.  Loki stumbled as they rushed down the two flights of stairs to the open air and Thor's car.

 Back home, Thor examined Loki's lip which clearly showed a bite mark. The redness on Loki's neck and face were further evidence of the violence Nick had inflicted. Thor cringed thinking about Loki’s encounter with this madman and the fact that he was also to blame for putting Loki in this situation.  

 "Thank you for helping me, Thor. I feel like such an idiot!” Loki rubbed his eyes in frustration. He continued, “What was I thinking? I didn’t even know the guy!”

 Without giving it a second thought Thor brought his hands up to Loki’s face, and rubbed the smoothness of his cheeks with his thumbs. Uncovering his eyes, Loki stared with absolute surprise at Thor, overwhelmed by the tenderness of his touch.

 "I've hurt you too much myself." Thor murmured, letting one of his thumbs come close to Loki’s lips.


End file.
